24H de'INSA

Bonjour tout le monde!!

Today was my favorite day here yet! I am also writing this a day late because I got home at 5am....

Today was the main day of 24H de'INSA (24 hours of INSA), which is a huge music festival that INSA has put on every year since like the 1970s I think. They had to cancel it the last two years, so they went all out for this one. We had originally planned to wake up around 8, and some of the boys were supposed to get us mimosas and deliver them to our rooms around 9. Then pregame a little and go to 24H around noon. Big emphasis on "original plan".

The boys knocked on our door around 9 according to plan, but we had just woken up and were no where near ready. I had also woken up sick. We decided to just go get some breakfast around 10, and found a little patisserie (like a bakery) near campus. I got a water and a chocolate croissant. I still felt really sick, so I decided to sleep some more and everyone else went to the boys room for mimosas. Around noon they came to wake me up and told me they decided to go downtown for lunch instead of the festival, which was perfect with me. We found a pretty restaurant and I ordered delicious pasta with chicken and alfredo. I also got a french coke, which tastes better than american coke.

my chicken alfredo from lunch

My friends Talia and Andrea were actually late to lunch because Talia had forgotten her concert ticket at home (she lives with a host family, not the dorms) and they went to grab it. We had to take a train I hadn't been on before, and I liked the change in scenery. When they made it to the restaurant we asked about the ticket, and she realized she forgot it again. We laughed about that through lunch and I went back to her host family's house with her after to actually grab the ticket. It was really interesting to see an authentic french house. They had a lot of pretty decor, but no air conditioning. The running joke with the Americans at INSA is that we miss air conditioning and ice, because both are very unpopular here.

on the left in a picture from my walk to Talia's host families house, on the right is an opera house we saw while walking downtown

After getting Talia's ticket we met back up with the group downtown and we decided to head to the river for a little bit. We took a cute picture of the girls and appreciated the architecture, then headed back to campus. At the stop where we change between the metro and the tram, we noticed a McDonalds. We decided to check it out and see the differences. The fries tasted the same, but they had a ton of menu items that I had never seen before. Even though it was funny to eat at a McDonalds in Lyon, I recommend trying McDonalds in every country to see how they change.

from left to right: Caitlyn, Talia, Me, Andrea

When we got back to campus we chilled out for a bit before going to the festival. We pregamed in the boys room with some mojitos and left around 9pm. We walked over and went through a security line, which was way more intense then I thought it would be for a music festival. We learned later that 24H INSA is the largest college music festival in France, and about 10,000 people were there.

24H was absolutely amazing. There were beer stands lining the streets, and they sold cool reusable cups for 1 euro to cut down on plastic waste. There were 3 stages total and music all night. We ended up in the center towards the front for the main act, which was absolutely insane. They played quite a bit of english songs, including some bangers like titanium and humble. We also were in several mosh pits which were crazy. I'm not sure I ever want to be in one again, but worth the experience. I literally don't have words to describe the experience.

left: the main stage, right: Talia and I

note: I have some really cool videos that show the crowd better, but they don't transfer to the blog well

We talked to a ton of people at 24H and made so many friends. My favorites were two ladies who were really nice and wanted to hear about the states. One started talking to my friends in French and they looked over to me to speak some back. I ended up in a 5 minute conversation in French with her about France and Lyon and what I loved about it. She told me my accent didn't sound American, which made my entire night. I can never tell how thick my American accent is, but I also assume its painfully noticeable. A native telling me I sounded good was the best compliment every (even though I think she was probably too intoxicated to tell the difference, I'll take the win).

After the main act ended, it was around 2 am. The festival ended at 4 am, so we wandered around a bit until a DJ came on the main stage again. We found the student leaders of our group and talked to them for a bit and then enjoyed more of the music. I went up on one of my friends shoulders, and saw the entire festival. Definitely a core memory for me.

me on parker's shoulders, claire on top of jonathon's shoulders next to us

Around 3:15 we decided we couldn't make it to 4 and went home. We were all covered in dirt, and had inhaled so much dirt and cigarette smoke. Cigarettes are still really popular in Europe, I'm not really sure why. We got home and Talia stayed the night in Andrea and my room. We all showered and went to bed around 5 am.

One of the most insane experiences of my life, but one of my all time favorite memories. I haven't even known the people on this trip for a week yet but we all get along so well they make it fun.

Do something fun with your people today!

à plus tard,

Maggie

(written for May 21)